Dow 15000! — Tuesday’s IP Market Recap

by Marc Bastow | May 7, 2013 4:45 pm

[1]In what is becoming a bit of a theme, both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 once again broke through to record highs on Tuesday, and the former crossed the 15000 threshold for the first time in the index’s history.

The Dow rose 0.58% to close at 15056.20, the S&P 500 extended its rally with a 0.52% improvement to close at 1625.96, and the Nasdaq rose 0.11% to finish at 3396.63.

Software giant Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT[2]) saw its recent momentum come to a halt, shedding more than 1% after announcing it will work on a redesign of its Windows 8 operating system[3] to make it easier to use. The software update is code named “Blue” and is expected to be ready for use by year end. MSFT had gained 26% year-to-date prior to Monday’s pullback.

Shares of DirecTV(NASDAQ:DTV[8]) rose more than 6% after reporting better-than-expected first-quarter revenues and earnings.

Headed the other way was solar power panel manufacturer First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR[9]), which sank nearly 9% after missing Q1 earnings estimates, though it did report stronger revenues.

OfficeMax(NYSE:OMX[10]) dropped just under 2% after it missed badly on its first-quarter earnings and guided analysts down on revenue and earnings for the year. The company also announced a special dividend of $1.50 per share payable on July 2.

Finally, entertainment giant Disney(NYSE:DIS[11]) closed a deal[12] with game software makerElectronic Arts(NASDAQ:EA[13]) to co-develop Star Wars video games. Disney traded ahead just under 2% while EA moved up fractionally on the news.